Language World 2004 “Reaching Out” came to the University of Oxford, 02-04 April 2004.
ALL President Bill Musk aimed to ‘reflect the enriching effect of languages within the education system’, through plenaries such as The Promotion of Language Learning & Linguistic Diversity at the European Level and workshops such as Reaching New Adult Learners and Reaching the Parts that Languages don’t Normally Reach.
Language World kicked off with an Accreditation Conference with plenaries led by Kate Green, examiner and awarding body officer, and a representative of the European Commission.
Subsequent plenaries were led by Lid King, the government’s National Director for Languages; Peter Hall, NALA; Terry Lamb, ALL Honorary Membership Officer; Steven Fawkes, ALL Past President; and Dick Hudson, University College, London.
Sessions covered a vast range of topics with titles such as:
• Inclusion: teaching a modern foreign language to physically disabled pupils in a mainstream setting, Sandy Kinvig, Wilson Stuart School;
• Reaching new adult learners – making it happen! Alwena Lamping, Academic Director, BBC/LSC languages project; Mick Webb, Interactive Editor, BBC Factual and Learning; and David Wilson, Executive Producer, BBC Factual and Learning;
• Why not learn a new language? Activities in Japanese for KS1 & 2, Tatsuya Nakagome, Chief Advisor, Japan Foundation and Yuka Yokozawa, Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls;
• Arabic taster, Anis Shamsan, Fitzalan High School; and
• Making MFL content motivating: the CLIP experience, Do Coyle, University of Nottingham School of Education.
Also in April: MPs’ took part in ‘Back to School Day’ to highlight the children across the world who don’t go to school, McFly topped the charts and Magnus Carlsen, the Norweigen chess prodigy, became the world’s youngest international grandmaster aged 13.